Before the start of the 2013 Stanley Cup, this era of Boston Bruins hockey didn’t know much about overtime in Stanley Cup Finals play. Hell, thanks to a wandering Tim Thomas and Alexandre Burrows in Game 2 of the 2011 Cup, they really only knew 11 seconds of it.

But in a series simply loaded with free hockey through four games (tonight’s game brought us the fifth overtime frame of the series), I’ve learned that Stanley Cup overtime is akin to one of those roller coasters you ride in complete darkness; You don’t know where it’s going, you don’t know when it’s gonna stop, and while it’s pretty cool, you definitely hate it.

Tonight, as we learned just under 10 minutes into the first overtime frame thanks to Brent Seabrook’s bomb, this one’s coasting on back to the Windy City tied at two games a piece.

Following a 28-save shutout of the Blackhawks on Monday night, simply smothering the Blackhawks’ offensive attack and in particular their man-advantage, which finished Game 3 an ugly 0-for-5, a return to Garden ice brought about some hyperbole from the locals. They wanted blood, with ‘blood’ in this case being a drubbing of Chicago’s Corey Crawford en route to a 3-1 series edge.

But when given the chance to begin their assault on the 28-year-old Crawford when Johnny Oduya was sentenced to two minutes in the box for interfering with Tyler Seguin, it would be a dogged assault on the 21-year-old Seguin that put the ‘Hawks on the board.

Muscled off the puck by rookie Brandon Saad, forcing Seguin to furiously retreat back with Saad and Michal Handzus barreling down on the 6-foot-9 Zdeno Chara on a 2-on-1, a cross-ice pass and one-timer from Saad to Handzus simply beat a sliding Rask, giving the ‘Hawks a much needed 1-0 edge seven minutes into the first.

Striking for the first time since their 19-shot opening frame back in Game 2, it was a goal that wouldn’t silence a Black-and-Gold attack gifted by a late period surge and more undisciplined play from a desperate ‘Hawks squad. Put back on the power-play when both Duncan Keith and Andrew Shaw found themselves in the box (and Chris Kelly in the B’s box), a late power-play knuckler from Rich Peverley undoubtedly caught Crawford off guard, and gave Boston their first goal of the night, leaving the B’s and ‘Hawks to skate to a 1-1 draw through 20.

And here’s where everything went kaboom...

Breaking the tie and establishing their first two-goal edge of the series when the reunited pair of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane answered with goals within 2:08 of one another, it was a middle frame littered with poor decisions from a normally stout Boston defense that seemed to put this one close to ‘game over’ territory before Milan Lucic answered the bell.

Bringing the B’s within one with a rebound goal off a Chara shot, it would a marker from Marcus Kruger a mere 49 seconds later that instantly pissed off an entire building of Black-and-Gold.

With hope seemingly damned by the 23-year-old’s third goal of the postseason, the Bruins (once again) found themselves skating with a purpose when an iffy hook on Kane put the Bruins back on the power-play, and back within one thanks to a wacky bounce off Crawford’s head, the glass, and everything in between in a mad sequence that ended with (who else but) Patrice Bergeron batting home his eighth of the playoffs.

And just missing on the tying goal late in the second -- lookin’ at you, easy tip-in that somehow eluded the goal-scoring part of Chris Kelly’s rejuvenated blade -- the Bruins were merely fortunate to be within one of Chicago after 40. Just like I’ve preached since the start of the series: Survive the first two periods against the Presidents’ Trophy winning Blackhawks, and you’re alive, and despite numerous brushes with Game 4 death, the B’s were alive.

Then they were tied.

Off a great feed from the 41-year-old Jaromir Jagr, Bergeron snapped home his second of the game, and ninth of the postseason, once again sending the Garden into a frenzy.

Yet, with the Bruins continuing to play with fire, and giving the struggling Blackhawks their fourth power-play of the night (and 14th of the series) on a David Krejci hook that started with the Bruins’ desire to get too cute with the puck in the neutral zone, it would be the snake-bitten Patrick Sharp that finally busted through. Capitalizing on a loose puck by the net, the Chicago winger banged the puck home, once again giving Chicago the lead, and tallying his league-leading 10th goal of the postseason.

Once again however, the Bruins would answer, 55 seconds later, off a No 55 blast.

Beating Crawford with a cannon of a goal, his sixth of the postseason, it was a goal from Johnny Boychuk that’d bring Boston their first Stanley Cup Finals overtime game in TD Garden history.

It was an overtime frame that started out with heavy chances for the Black-and-Gold -- namely with two prime scoring chances for Brad Marchand -- but much like in Game 1, an inability to score on early and uncommon chances burned Boston, as Seabrook’s blast 9:51 into the first overtime beat Rask for the sixth goal of the night (on the 47th shot, too).

Relax, it wasn’t going to be a five-game Cup

What have we learned through four games of the Stanley Cup Final? That the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks belong here, and that they’re the two best teams in the league this year.

It’s really not much more difficult than that, yet there’s outrage and panic among Boston’s fanbase ‘cause they’re not heading back to Chicago with a 3-1 series lead? Really?

This is the Stanley Cup. You’re not going to see many blowouts -- and that’s something the B’s and ‘Hawks have shown us, as even last night’s 11-goal affair ended as the series’ third one-goal decision, with all three of those contests requiring overtime.

Yes, the defense was leaky. Yes, the top-line has been rather quiet, and yeah, Rask wasn’t at his sharpest, but my goodness, since when is a 2-2 series a bad thing for the B’s or ‘Hawks?

Deep breaths, calm down.

Human after all... Tight B’s defense collapses in loss

The most concerning element of the Bruins’ Game 4 loss? The woeful play of a human-looking Boston defense. Holding a complete deathgrip on the Rangers, Penguins, and even the Blackhawks (to an extent) to almost nothing over the past month plus, the Bruins’ defense was victimized by terrible turnovers, horribly-timed pinches, and look thoroughly overmatched by Chicago’s speed.

It was pretty ugly.

“I think our decision making wasn't very good at times. Didn't think we were moving the puck as well as we had been in the past,” coach Claude Julien noted after the loss. “It was certainly a tough outing for us tonight. They came out hard, played extremely well. Somehow, again, they had the better of us for the first half of the game until we got ourselves going here a little bit.”

Where Boston fell in considerable trouble was when you take a look at how their best performers -- Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg -- played on the night.

With Chara on the ice for five of the Blackhawks’ goals last night, and Seidenberg costing the Bruins a goal with a horrific pinch in the second period, the Bruins’ best simply weren’t at their best, and it’s what prevented them from jumping out to a 3-1 series edge.

"It wasn't a Bruins’ type of game, but at the same time you have to get yourself back into it. Our guys worked hard to score goals. Probably got ourselves out of what our normal game plan is,” said Julien, adding, “So we opened up and we scored goals, but we also gave them some goals, like the game-winning goal.

“Too many times where they had an opportunity to tee it up. We'd come back in our own end and make the big circle. When you make the big circles, you open up the middle of the ice. Just things that don't characterize our team.”

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